Today, it is commonplace to find a variety of flexible pouches which include a closure system, such as a zipper, that can be opened and closed multiple times by the ultimate consumer. These reclosable pouches are used to enclose and/or hold a wide variety of items, articles or products in solid, semi-solid or liquid form. One or more items, articles or products can be manufactured or assembled and then be packaged in these pouches. The pouches and the enclosed items, articles or products can then be shipped to wholesalers, distributors and retailers for sale to the general public. The ultimate consumers can purchase the items, articles or products packaged in these pouches at grocery stores, mass merchandise stores, home improvement stores, garden supply stores, feed stores, etc. Examples of some items, articles and products that can be enclosed in such pouches include but are not limited to: food items in solid form such as fruit, vegetables, meats, candy, cookies, snacks, etc. and food items in liquid form such as non-carbonated juices, milk, sauces, etc; personal items such as medicine, cough drops, tobacco, cosmetics, toys, office supplies, etc; household items such as plastic knives, forks and spoons, cups, rubber bands, tacks, screws, hooks, laundry detergent, soap, etc; lawn and garden items such as grass seed, fertilizer, flower seeds, pet food, animal bedding material such as wood chips, etc., and various other items such as medical instruments, dental instruments, hardware, computer parts, sporting goods, etc.
The closure system used on such pouches can vary in design. A common closure system is in the form of a zipper having a track with an opening/closing mechanism and a slide member movably attached to the opening/closing mechanism. The slide member is designed to be manually moved back and forth along the track such that the pouch can be opened or closed multiple times. This ability to open and close the pouch multiple times, permits the ultimate consumer to remove only a portion of the items, articles or products enclosed therein at any one time. Alternatively, a consumer can insert or refill the pouch if desired. The pouch can be closed or resealed to keep the remaining items, articles or products together. If the pouch is constructed from an air tight material or a fluid or liquid tight material, it may also be able to keep the items, articles or products enclosed therein fresh. This is especially important for many food items which are not all consumed at one time.
Up until now, such reclosable pouches have been constructed using two basic methods. In the first method, which involves a two step process, a pouch without a closure system is manufactured in a first machine. The pouch includes a first major surface, an oppositely aligned second major surface, a pair of sides joining the first and second major surfaces together, a closed end and an open end. The pouch is then removed from the first machine and transported to a second machine. At the second machine, the pouch is reoriented such that its open end is aligned parallel to the machine direction. A closure system is then secured to the open end in the machine direction. This method tends to be cumbersome and limits the pouches from being manufactured at high speeds.
The second method for manufacturing reclosable pouches involves an in-line process using a single machine. The closure system is first secured to a continuous flat strip of material. After the closure system is in place, the material is folded upon itself to form a tubular member. The tubular member is then intermittently sealed and transversely slit adjacent to the closure system to form discrete pouches. Although the second method is somewhat more efficient than the first method, it suffers from a major design flaw. That design flaw is that the closure system does not extend outward from the top end of the finished pouch. This makes it difficult for the ultimate consumer to locate and maneuver the slide member along the track when he or she desires to open and/or close the pouch.
Now an in-line method has been invented for securing a closure system onto a discrete pouch. The method utilizes a machine which is capable of producing discrete pouches before the closure system is applied. The machine secures a closure system to each discrete pouch in a cross direction, perpendicular to the machine direction. The closure system is applied while each pouch advances in the machine direction. This allows a higher quality pouch to be manufactured as well as permitting the closure system to extend outward from the top end of the pouch. The method does not require reorienting each pouch before the closure system is applied. This makes the method more efficient and permits the finished pouches to be manufactured at faster speeds. The finished, discrete pouches produced by this method are aesthetically pleasing to the consumer and can be manufactured at a lower cost.